From the Stone Age to the Space Age, mankind has been on an unending quest for the perfect shave. Between late prehistoric days to 3100 B.C., unwanted facial hair was removed by using anything from sharpened animals' teeth to volcanic glass. Over several centuries, sharpened metal was discovered to be the ultimate razor.
During the 4th Century B.C., Alexander the Great ordered his troops to be clean shaven so that enemies could not grab their beards in battle. During the 11th Century A.D., steel was introduced in razors.
In 1698, Czar Peter the Great of Russia levied a "Beard Tax", forcing his reluctant male subjects to shave. During the 18th and 19th centuries, most American and European men depended on the barbershop for a shave.
In 1904, Massachusetts inventor King C. Gillette received a patent for the home safety razor. His company sold 90,000 razors and 12 million blades in its first year.
In 1931, the electric shaver was introduced and, in 1959, coated, stainless-steel blades were invented. In 1971, the twin blade cartridge was marketed, followed in 1975 by the first disposable razor. In 1981, Gillette introduced the first swivel-head razor.
Today, American men spend over $1 Billion on razors and blades, and more than an additional $1.2 Billion on shaving creams, aftershaves and colognes.
Generally speaking, prior to the present invention, shaving was conventionally performed by applying lather directly to the area to be shaved. Shaving lathers were originally prepared by, for example, agitating a personal care soap with the use of a bristle brush to form a whipped composition. However, these lathering soaps were considered time-consuming and inconvenient.
Brushless creams were subsequently available for shaving purposes. The creams are spread upon the area to be shaved, in the state that they are purchased, and generally do not form a lather. However, they were less effective than the soap lathers because they did not permit as close or smooth a shave and, unless completely cleaned from the skin, left a greasy or sticky feeling.
In an attempt to improve methods of shaving, preparations packaged in aerosol containers, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,655,482 to Spitzer et al., were introduced. A lather is produced as the composition is released from the aerosol container, and then applied directly to the area to be shaved. Although still popular today, consumers' dissatisfaction with present aerosol lathers continues to exist, primarily due to the fact that most aerosol lathers provide improper wetting of the surface to be shaved, thereby resulting in an inferior shave.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,269 to Lopez discloses a handy device designed to improve skin preparation before shaving. A shaving cream is produced from an aerosol container, comprising the handle portion of the razor, and passes through the neck of the razor handle to be discharged through an integrally formed applicator brush. The brush is used to fully massage the shaving preparation onto the skin. A razor head, integrally connected to, but separate from, the brush, is then used to shave the treated skin surface. The razor blade forms a part of the shaving device merely as a convenience item U.S. Pat. No. 3,417,468 to Miyauchi is analogous to the Lopez patent. Namely, a foamy skin preparation is absorbed onto a sponge applicator device for pre-treatment of the skin before shaving. Once the preparation has been applied to the skin, a razor blade, formed integrally with, but separate from, the sponge applicator, is used to shave the pre-treated skin.
Other "all-in-one" devices, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,009 to Hackmyer and U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,119 to Sellera, have been introduced wherein pressurized containers form the handle portion of the razor and dispense lathers up to and through the razor head to treat the skin immediately before shaving. However, these convenience items requires the use of messy foams.
In a further attempt to improve shave quality, there was developed an aerosol system containing a post-foaming gel, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,541,581 to Monson. The aerosol container discharges a gel substantially free from foaming and, when spread over the skin, produces a self-generating foam having a substantially uniform foam profile.
In addition to the above items, there has been developed a system for use in shaving for treating the blade of a razor, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,893 to Borenstein, by applying a refrigerant directly thereto via an aerosol system to sharpen the blade of the razor. Unfortunately, this system makes shaving even more time-consuming, as it requires the cumbersome process of applying lather from one container directly to the skin, followed by the continuous cooling of the razor from another container during shaving.
Reservoir safety razors are also known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,176,391 to Resnick et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,882 to Harrison. However, these also are directed to skin treatment such as, for instance, hydration. Treatment of the blade is not an objective.
The present invention eliminates the disadvantages associated with the aforementioned systems while providing a superior shave without the mess and bother associated with current shave creams and/or gels. This is achieved by providing a method and apparatus which permits application of a liquid lubricant directly to the blade of the razor, via an aerosolization system, instead of onto the area to be shaved. This provides for a neat, self-contained, single unit shaving system.
Although it has heretofore been known to apply a composition directly to the blade of a razor, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,364,068 to Stern, the known systems are completely different in principle from the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,364,068 teaches the use of a pressurized container for applying biocidal gas to a razor head to clean the razor blades. U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,893 teaches the use of a pressurized container for applying a coolant to a razor head to freeze the razor blades. The present invention is directed to a pressurized container for applying an emollient to a razor head to lubricate the razor blades.
Basically, the present invention utilizes principles which are in contradiction to the prior art. This invention allows the user to apply a lubricant directly to the blade of a razor instead of applying a shaving preparation directly to the area to be shaved. It has surprisingly been found that this system provides significant improvements in razor glide, closeness and smoothness of shave, as well as better afterfeel.